If you were considering the future of kiteboarding what would it look like?

4 (+1) Main questions:

- What would be the most critical developments for the future of kiteboarding? - Where are the weak points in a kite?- Where are the strong points in a kite?- What would make kiteboard much better (this can be unrealistic)?- Other ideas you want to explore?

Initially all points are valid, but if you can back up your claim with numbers and resources it is even better.

I am considering doing a study of the future of kiteboarding. The purpose would be to inform the industry (and anyone interested), and have us riders benefit by some leapfrogging of technology. Initially I am thinking of setting up a normative study, but I am considering adding a little more detail and provide a quantitative forecast for the future. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please do not hesitate to either post it in this thread or PM me.

If we as riders can provide a lot of information, I can set it up to do a quantitative study and invite industry to participate. If you want to PM me ideas and questions I can post it in the thread anonymously. If this gains some traction, the results would be accessible for anyone that participate.

Please keep any brand / specific kite out of this thread. We are talking in general here. No personal attacks please.

1) most important better safety2) worst part about kiting is the learning curve, most busy dads and moms cant take the time to learn3) best part of kiting is how universal it can be you can do it anywhere, ice, snow, water, land, hilly flat, wet dry, pack it in a bag with your board, and go bicycle to your lake/hill/ocean/sand dune or just put up a trainer and thrown down on your skateboard. This is why kiting beats windsurfing and sailing every time4) give noobs a way to start out more easily, less painfully and safer, find a way to learn quicker and easier. make it more like skateboarding where anyone can get a giant landboard and cruise, and later on if you want you can get a trick deck and throw down. Note how skateboarding has really taken off in this direction for precisely this reason. Kiteboarding right now is still in the give them a skateboard and throw them off the halfpipe stage.

NOPE -- i don't agree, and here is why :A modern kite is a rather intricate machine that takes true talentto design, build, and do it at a cost that the manufacturer can stayafloat with advertisement exc. im afraid if they get cheaper that thequality will diminish.

When i purchased my first Hang-glider, i was in college, and couldn'tafford it ; so i went to work for a HG company to pay for it. Simply stated :"Ya do what it takes to get what Ya want, short of steeling" !!

Weak points are the lack of application from other sports appliedto our equipment ; mainly the kites. But realistically i can see WHY .

If our kites were as technologically as advanced as a current modern dayState of the Art para-glider, or Hang glider ---people would KILL themselves because of their efficiency ! 60 ft jumps would be the norm , for a person of mediocre ability.. That's whatmakes Hang gliding so dangerous, a intermediary pilot canpurchase a machine that's More than capable of going So fastthat it will Explode itself. Not Good !!

Look at how many threads there are on : How do i go BIG with my Jumps ---14 m for big lofty jump ---I wanna do a Mega-Loop ---The current designs, kinda limits the goon-balls from going over 20ft high ; ifyou wanna go higher then try getting GOOD at Kite-boarding "First" !!

There IS a happy medium though ; with the application of better aerodynamics, the current speed-range for a kite could be Easily be improved upon , withoutmaking it easier to jump over 40ft like , a really Good kiter can do now. SO -- we could get rid of 1/2 our quiver, thus making the sport Less expensive.

I know some brands have two piece boards, which is an interesting concept. I wonder how viable inflatable boards are. My expectations are – not very. But I wouldn’t have given inflatable SUPs much chance either.

people that want to lower the cost of kites have never suffered the childhood trauma of a wally world skateboard for $29.99, plastic trucks, cheap pine wood, plastic wheels awful iron bearings make you feel like you are sledding uphill in a sand dune. wally world kite for $299.99 yeah that sounds wonderful.

- What would be the most critical developments for the future of kiteboarding? Safety. Including lines breaking, line wraps on kite, lines wrap on rider, pulleys jamming/breaking, line cuts- Where are the weak points in a kite?Kite lines- Where are the strong points in a kite?Canopy!- What would make kiteboard much better (this can be unrealistic)?Safety, depower, no lotfing, no getting dragged underwater/on beach, no death loops- Other ideas you want to explore?Cheaper!

[*]What would be the most critical developments for the future of kiteboarding? I assume the current cost of entry into kite boarding is mostly a function of the free market. i think there is one way to make costs somewhat lower by changing how we buy gear.

Currently, I think it is safe to say that almost all kite boarders buy more than one bar. We understand value in the redundancy of having two or more of an item even though we can only use one at a time.The two main mechanical functions on a bar which greatly determines our opinion about a bar are the kite trim system and the QR. Many times we like the QR from company A but the trim system from company B.

i would like to see QRs sold separately or as part of a spreader bar. Bars could be sold with lines and a trim system I like with a simple ring to hook into below the bar. If the QR is a separate purchase, I would not buy a QR each time I buy a bar which lowers the cost of the bar. I could pick the QR of my choice and the trim system of my choice separately. it would be easier to afford buying a bar for every kite and leaving them attached to each kite. I could just buy 1 or 2 QRs (if I want a back up) and have 5 bars. Slingshot made a "Surefire" bar that had a QR hook. It did not catch on, but, it is a good basic example of what I am talking about.

To everyone saying safety you are wrong. Kites are as safe as they can get for the most part. Safety does not mean gear and gimmicks from the kite company. It is every single one of our own responsibility to ride in safe conditions and limit unnecessary risk.

Accidents will all ways happen big and small. Safety is not eliminating the it is at it's core reducing the chance and severity at which they occur. From my experience that starts with the choices and risks we take.